XFX Radeon HD 6850 Running Hot vs. Anandtech Review

[jammin_77]

Hi Everyone, I'm new to the forums here.

I'm new to overclocking and I decided to overclock my new XFX Radeon HD 6850 video card to what the Anandtech review found to be easily attainable settings with stock voltages. I was able to increase 3DMark11 scores by 400 points by slowly raising GPU and memory clock speeds from 775 MHz/1000 MHz to 850 MHz/1150 MHz. I've noticed however, that the Anandtech review reads temperatures from 60-66 degrees C under load at these settings where I'm reading closer to 80-85 degrees. I also noticed that at stock settings I seem to run about 5 degrees higher under load. Anyone have any ideas why there is such a discrepancy?

My setup is as follows:

Intel Core i7 960 (stock at 3.2 GHz)
Asus ROG Rampage GENE II
XFX Radeon HD 6850
6 GB RAM (1333 MHz I think)
OCZ Agility 3 SSD 120 GB
Large roomy server case with air cooling only

Thanks!

 

[Squirtmonster]

They might not use a case, it might be a open air environment.

 

[lehtv]

Individual chips always show differences in temps and overclockability. Nothing stops manufacturers from sending a hand-picked unit to a review either... one that is more overclockable and cooler than most units of the same model.

The Gigabyte 560 Ti SOC 1000Mhz card attained extremely nice temperatures well below 70C in some reviews despite the huge factory overclock. In other reviews, the temperatures were much higher, in accordance with my unit which will rise to 80C with the fan at 100%. It doesn't matter if I have the side of the case open or not, I've even tested it with the case lying down so that air can rise out easily from the open side.

Another variable: ambient temperature.

 

[Stuka87]

Did they review and XFX 6850, or another makes? Different makes use different coolers. And also temps will vary chip to chip.

 

[Ryan Smith]

They might not use a case, it might be a open air environment.

We use a case, although admittedly a rather high-end one: the Thermaltake Speedo.

Anyhow, as I recall the XFX 6850 we had used a rather aggressive fan profile. If it is the same model, XFX may have updated the profile for something quieter (and as a result hotter).

 

[pandemonium]

I had very poor experiences with XFX's 6870 and had to return them. Given that the 3 available 6850's on Newegg from XFX have the same shroud/fan design, I'm willing to say it's a poor design in general. I had them for about a week and a half and had a support conversation with XFX going. They assured me that the high temperatures were normal.

You may be thinking it's just a requirement to have a dual fan shroud with the HD6xxx cards since they notably run hot, but I ended up getting 2 MSI Twin Frozr II 6870's and they are amazingly better; in the same case with the same setup they run 15°C cooler at load and are silent compared to the XFXs.

My Newegg review:

• pandemonium
• 9/20/2011 7:09:01 AM
• Tech Level:
  
• Ownership:
  
• 
  Verified Owner

Powerful but Loud and Hot

Pros: -As with the HD6870 in general, the price point / performance is one of the best cards available
-Overclocks without needing to adjust voltage to 930/1075
-Downclocking works great to reduce power consumption if you DON'T overclock at all, otherwise it's a severely buggy PITA or doesn't work at all (core/memory 'should' reduce when not in use)
-Small PCB length
-Power connections on side instead of the end
Cons: [Note that I'm running these in Crossfire!]
-Shroud design primarily disperses heat into the your case instead of through exhaust vent
-Runs VERY hot: top card at idle 52°C (2 monitors with different resolutions 63°C), loaded 93°C [@stock clocks]
-Odd checkered artifacting when running CF in games when 2 monitors with different resolutions are connected
-The fans are unbearably loud when at 100% (which is constant if gaming since they run so hot); slight whine when at idle
Other Thoughts: I actually decided to upgrade my system fans, CPU HSF, and get a PCI slot fan due to how hot these cards ran in hopes it was poor air flow in my case. It helped, but didn't solve the problem. These cards just run hot and loud.

Power draw total for overclocked GPUs and CPUs = 409watts (comparatively low)
Unigine v2.5 benchmark @1680x1050, DX11, default settings = 55.0 average FPS, min 25.7, max 82.5 (score 1386)
3DMark Vantage GPU score 19118

Computer specs:
MoBo: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775
CPU: Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 @3.2GHz (2.66GHz) Heatsink: Xigmatek HDT-S963
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W
Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB DDR2 1066 996599
Primary HDD: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gbps
Secondary HDD: Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 3.0 (via Buffalo Technology DriveStation SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCI Express adapter)
GPUs: XFX HD-687A-ZHFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB (Crossfired)
Case: Lian-Li PC6070

 

[Silverforce11]

I hate the ATI reference fan (the blower type), it's always so noisy when its above 45% fan speed. They should just use a large fan design exhausting heat into the case, doesn't matter if it warms the rest of your case up, at least it keeps the GPU cool and runs quiet.

Plus, users should put extra fans in their case for airflow anyway.